Wedding belle's emotional day with Swansea City star Angel Rangel

MOST people popping the question have the liberty of at least 12 months to plan the big day.

But, for the partner of Swansea City star Angel Rangel, tragic news meant her dream wedding had to be put together in a matter of weeks.

The Swans defender had taken his partner Nikki, 28, on holiday to Dubai in May and proposed to her during a private dinner on the beach.

Sadly the news of their engagement coincided with Nikki's 48-year-old aunt, Debbie, being diagnosed with terminal cancer and her mother, Mandy, and grandmother, Mary, also discovering they had breast cancer.

The former University of Glamorgan law student and her new fiance set to work planning the perfect wedding which took place on Saturday at Clyne Chapel in the Mayals area of Swansea.

Nikki said the hardest part of planning was finding a wedding dress.

The mum-of-three said the ceremony itself was made all the more emotional as her aunt, who is herself a mum-of-two, her mother and her grandmother were all able to attend.

She said: "We decided to have the wedding as soon as possible.

"It was very emotional. It was a beautiful day.

"We couldn't have asked for anything more."

Nikki and Angel have been together for four years and originally met in Cardiff while she was working at House of Fraser as a store assistant.

The Swans star was shopping in the capital and the pair have been together ever since.

They now have two children, 22-month-old Angel Noah and five-month-old Isabelle Rose, who both attended the wedding alongside Nikki's eight-year-old son Bailey.

Nikki said: "The children looked beautiful."

The happy couple were also blessed with good weather and around 85 guests including Swansea City striker Stephen Dobbie and Midfielder Andrea Orlandi.

Fellow midfielder Alan Tate was also invited, but was unable to attend due to illness.

The wedding reception took place in Swansea's Morgans Hotel.

Music for the event was supplied by the bride's brother Craig Wright, who runs his own mobile disco.

Their first dance was to Wedding Day by Seal.

Nikki said her aunt enjoyed the event and added: "It was really good for her.

"It really picked her spirits up seeing all the family together."

The new Mrs Rangel has also praised the marathon efforts of the team behind the wedding from the company who made the cake to the florists.

She said: "Without them we probably wouldn't have been able to get it as perfect as we did."

The couple were also left with an issue over stationery after discovering mistakes in the original work and having to source a replacement at the last minute.

The newlyweds have decided to postpone their honeymoon as yesterday was the first day of training for Swansea City under new manager Michael Laudrup.

Angel Rangel came to the Swans from Spanish side Terrassa in the summer of 2008 on a performance related contract after the two clubs agreed an undisclosed fee.

The 29-year-old signed a three year deal with Swansea City in August of last year.

The Swans will play their first game in their second season in the Barclays Premier League against Queens Park Rangers away at Loftus Road on Saturday, August 18.

rupert.hall@swwmedia.co.uk.